**3. Approaches to biological control**

The use of biological control suppresses the pest populations, making them less damaging than they would be. They play an important role in limiting the densities of potential pest and include natural enemies such as predators, parasitoids, and pathogens. There are three general approaches to biological control; importation, augmentation and conservation of natural enemies (**Figure 1**). These have been accepted as an effective, environmentally non-degrading, technically appropriate, economically viable and socially acceptable method of pest management. Each of these techniques can be used either alone or in combination in a biological control program.
